Reporters on the Job

February 27, 2004

• Aristide Revisited: Clara Germani first encountered Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1986. "I remember talking with him in the courtyard of St. Jean Bosco, a church that would burn to the ground in a 1988 attack by government thugs that killed 13 parishioners and very nearly Aristide himself," says Clara. "My memory is of a skinny, somewhat nerdy guy who hardly seemed destined to become such an important figure." She watched his career progress until 1994, when she was assigned to cover Russia. Writing about him Friday, a decade later, (page 1), Clara says: "It's shocking to see the virulent backlash against a man who was once so beloved."

• Hair-raising Trip: Tim Cocks was among journalists who accompanied Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni on a trip through northern Uganda (this page). 'He wanted to show us that he was not intimidated by the insurgents there,' Tim says. 'A trip we were told would take an hour took four, because the convoy had to keep pace with a minesweeper and stop at any sound that might signal an ambush.' After arriving at his camp so late, Museveni flew the group back in his helicopter rather than risk returning them by land. 'Army drivers brought our vehicles back,' says Tim. 'On the way back, one of the vehicles hit a land mine. Or was it ambushed? One of the survivors thought that's what happened.'

• Street scene: Reporter Jane Regan flew back to Port-Au-Prince from Cap-Haïtien Wednesday (page 7). On arrival, she was told that roads between the airport and the capital were barricaded. 'There were pro-Aristide thugs robbing people at gunpoint at some checkpoints,' she says. She called a driver who knows the back roads. It was late at night as they drove into the city. Police had removed some barricades. But Thursday the downtown area near the National Palace was sealed by pro-Aristide supporters manning barricades. 'Police are afraid to confront them,' Jane says.